Identification devices are used for numerous types of animals, including cattle, cows, sheep and swine, and have been used for a number of years. Earlier devices included metal clips which were pressed onto the ear of the animal. The identification device of the Norman J. Hayes U.S. Pat. No. 3,260,007, which has become known throughout the United States and in other countries, comprises the combination of a pin and a tag. The tag, formed of a softer plastic, is provided with a body on which numbers or other identifying indicia may be placed, connected by a neck with a socket on the outside of the tag and a hole extending to said socket. The pin, formed of harder plastic, is provided with a conical point at one end of a stem, with an annular base at the opposite end of the stem. An applicator, which operates similarly to a pair of pliers, is provided with a spring clip for holding the base of the pin against one arm of the applicator, with the opposite arm receiving the socket, with the ear of the animal between the conical point of the pin and the tag. The handles of the applicator are moved together to move the arms toward each other, so that the conical point of the pin will be forced through the ear, then into the hole in the tag and finally into the socket, to retain the tag and pin together. One disadvantage of the pin formed entirely of hard plastic, necessary to provide sufficient hardness and strength to permit the conical point and stem of the pin to be forced through the ear and into the socket of the tag, has been the fact that since the base of the pin, which engages the ear of the animal, rather than yielding somewhat with movement of the ear, remains rigid and thereby tends to irritate the ear. This may produce a wound which may become infected. An additional problem, albeit at times somewhat minor in nature, is the fact that, as the conical point of the pin passes through the ear, flesh from the hole is pushed toward the side of the ear adjacent the tag. Although the tag is formed of soft plastic and therefore does not tend to irritate the ear as much as a hard plastic part would, the wound at the exit end is more pronounced than at the entrance end, due to the tendency for flesh to be pushed through the hole in the ear. Thus, a close fitting tag may tend to retard the circulation of air to the wound at the exit end of the hole in the ear, thereby slowing the process of healing and increasing the possibility of infection. Of course, with the socket on the outside, the tag will lie flat against the ear, thereby reducing the possibility of the tag being caught by a fence, tree limb or the like and tending to pull out of or damage the animal's ear.
Additional types of tages and applicators have been developed, including that of Murphy et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,859, which utilizes a spring clip of a type similar to that of U.S. Pat. No. 3,260,007 to hold a socket end of a tag mounted on one arm of the applicator, and a piercing and support needle mounted on the opposite arm of the applicator. This needle engages a central hole in a pin which is formed of soft plastic but which must be reinforced by the needle in order to pierce the ear and which also must be provided with a conical metal ring at the outer end of the conical tip, so that the extreme end of the piercing needle will first penetrate the ear, followed by the metal ring and then the remainder of the pin. The pin may be a separate pin, or may be molded integrally with another tag, also formed of soft plastic. Although this construction permits the soft plastic to engage the ear at the entrance end of the hole to the ear, the applicator must be disinfected between each installation of the tag. The tip of the piercing and support needle enters the ear of each animal in turn, so that any infection or the like present in one animal is likely to be carried to another animal. The inconvenience of dipping the applicator in an antiseptic solution between each installation of an identification device, as well as the inconvenience of carrying around the antiseptic solution in a container which must be opened to permit the stem of the applicator to be dipped into the solution and then closed to prevent the entry of dust, debris from an animal or the like, are both deterrents to the use of such a system. The socket for the pin is on the inside of the tag, thereby reducing the possiblility of infection due to lack of air circulation.
Another type of identification device is disclosed by Brierley, U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,952, which device includes a pair of tags, one of which is provided with a socket adjacent one end and the other of which is provided with a laterally extending stem formed integrally therewith. Each of these tags and the respective socket and stem are formed of soft plastic. The stem has an enlarged head and an axial hole, into which a metal pin having a conical tip may be slipped, with the base of the conical tip having a diameter corresponding to the enlarged head on the tag stem. The metal stem of the pin reinforces the stem of the tag, while the metal conical tip of the pin not only pierces the ear but also displaces the hole leading into the socket so that the enlarged head of the hollow stem of the second tag will enter the socket and retain the two tags together. The metal pin is removed after a tag is installed, by making the stem of the pin longer than the stem of the second tag so that the metal pin, after installation of the tag can be pushed from the opposite side of the ear to move the conical tip away from the socket. Thus, the conical tip can then be grasped by a workman and the installation pin removed. Of course, either the installation pin must be discarded after each installation or sterilized before reuse. The socket on the tag of the Brierley U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,952 is also placed adjacent the ear, so as to minimize the area of the tag which engages the ear around the hole produced by installation, thereby permitting better circulation of air to the wound at the exit end of the hole in the ear. However, such a socket, normally produced by a boss or ring having a thickness which is considerably greater than the thickness of the tag, spaces the tag from the ear a corresponding distance, thereby increasing the possibility of the tag catching on a fence wire or the like and becoming lost or producing damage to the ear of the animal.
A variation of the support type of tag stem is shown by Fearing, U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,924, in which a steel point, closed and conical, is molded to the end of a hollow neck or stem of soft plastic, while an installation rod, as on a tool, is inserted in the hollow neck to push the tip and stop through an ear, then remove the rod without the need for sterlization between tag installations.
An applicator having arms for receiving a spike and a tag having a hole to receive the spike is disclosed in Brierly, Australia Pat. No. 242,379 as having side stops which severely restrict radial positioning of the tag. Also, Oudenhoven U.S. Pat. No. 3,641,804 discloses an applicator having triangular jaws with edge flanges for both the pin and tag, thereby also severely restricting any radial variation in the position of the tag.
Among the objects of this invention are to provide a novel animal identification device; to provide a novel applicator particularly adapted for installation of such identification device; to provide such an identification device which includes a tag which is provided with a socket on the side opposite the ear for reception of the head of an attachment pin or the like; to provide such a tag having such a socket but which permits circulation of air to the wound at the exit end of the hole in the ear of the animal; to provide a novel pin which has a conical point on the stem of sufficient strength, such as corresponding to that of hard plastic, for penetration of the ear and attachment ot a tag having a socket therefor, but which is provided with a soft plastic surface at the base of the pin or of a second tag from which the pin extends; to provide such a pin which has a construction which readily transmits the force produced by an applicator for a tag and pin combination; to provide such an applicator which is particularly adapted to install the tag and pin of this invention; to provide such an applicator which more securely holds the pin or a second tag having a pin extending therefrom; to provide the combination of an applicator, tag and pin or second tag having a pin which avoids the necessity for sterlization of any part following installation; to provide such an applicator which more securely receives a tag having a socket on the side away from the ear of the animal; to provide such an applicator which permits a wide angle of positioning of the tag at various angles to the arm of the applicator on which mounted; and to provide each such tag with a socket, a pin with a conical point or tag provided with a stem having a conical point and applicator particularly adapted for installation of the tag and pin or dual tag combination, each of which is readily manufactures and operates in an effective and efficient manner.